Mask | ✓

47

The house was tense.

After the conversation, if you could even call it that, that Nixon and I had earlier, neither of us had spoken to each other. I didn't understand what the issue was or why it was such a big deal. Was a long-distance relationship desired? Of course not, but I didn't see what other way there would be unless he wanted to come with me.

The only reason I hadn't suggested it was because of what it meant. It meant that I'd be asking him to drop everything and come with me when we didn't even know if it would work out in the long run. Sure, the distance between our packs wasn't far, but it was far enough to the point where he'd go from seeing his brother and friends on a daily basis to a lot less. He'd be rebuilding a life in the Howling Night, and I wasn't sure if that was something he wanted. Hell, I doubted Nixon even knew if that was something he wanted.

For the most part, I stayed in my room, packing my things and only going out when needed. I'd passed by him multiple times, but he barely spared me a glance, and I couldn't understand why he was so upset. What was it that I was missing?

By the time I was fully packed up. I began to take my bags down the stairs and place them near the door. Nixon didn't say anything as I did so. Once I was finished, I paused before releasing a sigh and moving down the hall toward the room that I knew Nixon had to be within.

I knocked on the door. "Nixon, I'm coming in, alright?"

There was no answer, and I waited a few moments before slowly opening the door. The man was sitting on the bed and stared at me with an unreadable expression—something that was very unlike Nixon.

"I'm leaving soon," I told him. "I don't want to leave things like this. Do you want to try at least to talk and figure this out?"

I stood and waited for a response. I could see that he was thinking, but after a few minutes with no response, I sighed and moved toward him. I close the gap between us and lean down to press a kiss to his cheek. He doesn't pull away but slightly leans into the gesture. Whether he meant to or not, I didn't know, but it did help make me feel like there was still some hope left.

"If you're not wanting to talk now, that's fine, but call me when you do," I told him.

With that, I turned and left the room and began to move my bags to the car. Even though I hadn't stayed for long, there was something sad about leaving the Silver Night.

I couldn't help but have doubts about leaving as I got into the car and drove toward the border. I never planned to stay for long, but this wasn't how I wanted to leave things either.

I stopped driving just before I reached the border and took out my phone. I scrolled down the list of contacts and stopped when I reached Maia's. My finger hovered over it as I considered calling her and saying I'd be staying a day later. I knew that she'd have some questions but ultimately wouldn't mind if I stayed a day later. But even if I did stay, it wouldn't be with Nixon. I didn't want to go back there today since I wanted to give him space to work through his thoughts.

A knock on my window caused me to jump. I turned my head to see the familiar face of the man who showed up when Nixon and I had gone on our run. I rolled down the window, and he backed up slightly.

"Are you alright? I saw you stop," the man, whose name I could remember, said.

"I'm fine, but thank you," I said politely, not bothering to elaborate on my reasoning.

There wasn't much I knew about him other than the fact that Nixon didn't like him, which didn't say much. Nixon had a habit of disliking most people, but something about the man rubbed me the wrong way. Why was he here?

"I came on behalf of Alpha Nolan to see you off," he explained, as if reading my mind, but the way he spoke made it sound like a glorified way of saying, "Go the hell away."

It annoyed me slightly, but I managed to put a smile on my face and nod. He stood there in an expectant manner, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

I glanced back in the direction of Nixon's house and then back down at my phone. A moment passed before I mentally sighed and turned the device off.

"Thank you, I'll be leaving now," I told the man.

I started the car back up and continued my drive out of the Silver Night territory. As I drove, my eyes drifted back toward the mirror and through the reflection, I caught sight of the man's eyes one last time. He stared blankly, just watching as I exited the lands, and though his eyes seemingly revealed nothing, the coldness in them was enough to make me frown and raise my guard.

I could see as he turned away and began to head back. He didn't shift, but instead, he slowly walked with his hands in his pockets, which made me wonder what was happening in his mind. Finally, I pulled my attention away from him and focused back on the road. But as I drove, something told me that he'd be on my mind for the rest of my journey home.